For
a band that's had its current lineup for five years, the
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Pike is maddeningly difficult to get a handle
on.
Part of that's a function of having recorded two EPs - 2006's The Sound of Power Tools and this year's ... From Someone So Small - that say goodbye almost as they're walking in the door. Another factor is that the new recording marks such a huge leap forward that it renders the previous work moot.
More than anything, though, the quartet - which will be playing three shows in the area this week, including Thursday at RIBCO - has musical ADD, and seems easily distracted. I can't think of many recordings that are less coherent in 15 minutes than ... From Someone So Small.
That's not a criticism, although the EP's brevity and the absence of a dominant voice - both vocally and musically - makes it sit more like an amusé than a main course, whetting the appetite but not fulfilling.
There are obvious touchstones from mid-1990s alternative music, with the rough-edged sweetness of the Breeders and the guitar precision of Sleater-Kinney being the most obvious references.
The lead track, "Dangergirl," starts unpromisingly with a rote rhythm guitar, but the EP finds its feet within 15 seconds and never falters again. The five songs are compact and propulsive, with each instrument active, articulated, differentiated, and integrated. The production is charmingly lo-fi without sacrificing clarity or complexity.
The vocal and guitar harmonies and counterpoints are particularly effective. Kelly Jarvis' unmannered singing is naturally sexy, while her phrasing is unpredictable but not jarring. And when she's joined by the band's male voices, the unions sound spontaneously joyful.
The Primus-like "Magnet" features the lines "I don't know why I attract the crazies / I seem to pick them out like wild-eyed daisies" and "She had the most unappetizing habits / She did something unnatural with rabbits," and they're confirmation that Pike is as well-rounded as it is infectious. There's too much going on in the band's brief recordings to have any confidence where it's headed, but it looks like it should be a fun trip.
Pike will perform on Thursday, October 25, at RIBCO, with Superfly Samurai (Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls without Wicked Liz).
The band will also play at Jumpers in Dubuque, Iowa, on Friday, October 26, and at Missipi Brew in Muscatine, Iowa, on Saturday, October 27. Both those shows are with Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls.
For more information on the band, visit (http://www.pikerocks.com).
